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Rediscover Boracay

published by simplysophie on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 16:53

Boracay is a fantastic tropical island about an hour's flight from Manila in the Philippines. Its long white sand beaches rivals any of the best beaches in the more popular beach destinations such as the Caribbean, the South Pacific as well as neighboring Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

There's no more excuse since any mode of transportation can easily bring you and your whole family to this island-paradise. The easiest, of course, is by plane.

Commercial airlines regularly have a daily Manila-to-Caticlan route and vice-versa

SEAir, for instance, has a claim of being the "fastest flight to Boracay" on small jets that take you there in 35 minutes. The price range for the round trip fare is from P6,700 to P8,000 depending on promos, off-season rates.

The more adventurous route would be by land. Bus companies such Philtranco offer a hassle-free trip that has Iloilo City as a final destination. It passes by Caticlan so better be alert as to where you are going down.

The aircon bus of Philtranco is very comfortable except if you have irritating co-passengers who are chatting incesantly as if they rented the whole bus. The fare is P820 (inclusive of the RORO fees at Batangas and Roxas Ports). They leave almost daily at 7:30pm

On the other hand, private vehicle owners can also make a roadtrio to Boracay (or specially, until Caticlan). This is an opportune time to bond with family members, relatives, officemates, and get to know they think, converse and react to various situations.

Arrive in Calapn Port of Oriental Mindoro after around two hours at sea. The road to Roxas town in the South of Calapn is an easy drive. There are signs leading to Roxas. Just be careful if you drive during the night since some areas are not well lighted.

Arrive in Caticlan four hours after leaving Roxas Post. Even though you love your car and don't want to part from it, your only option is to leave it in a guarded parking lot in Caticlan.

If you change your mind and instead want to continue your road trip rather thank lounge in the sands, Kalibo is about an hour away while Iloilo City is five-hour drive.

In Boracay, there are posh hotels offering spa services to gym facilities, down to a room-for-rent type accommodation where you can cook your own food. However, the ultimate Boracay adventure would be just to set up a tent at the beachfront, have a massage, while witnessing the magnificent sunset.

Then you will join the thousands who treasure their memories of time in Boracay.

The fun in Boracay also doesn't end when the sunsets. Boracay nightlife is pulsating with many bars and restaurants serving food, drink and fun until the very late evening.

Facilities are available to suit different levels of activity. For those wanting to just lounge around and take in some rays, beach-front hotels usually have lounge chair set up just few steps away from the hotel entrances. Facilities for the usual water sports activities such as wind surfing, snorkeling, diving and jet skiing are also widely available for those in search of more active pursuits.